Geography

The Republic of China today consists of the island of Taiwan, an island
100 mi (161 km) off the Asian mainland in the Pacific; two off-shore
islands, Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu; and the nearby islets of the
Pescadores chain. It is slightly larger than the combined areas of
Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Government

Multiparty democracy.

History

Taiwan was inhabited by aborigines of Malayan descent when Chinese from
the areas now designated as Fukien and Kwangtung began settling it in the
7th century, becoming the majority. The Portuguese explored the area in
1590, naming it “the Beautiful” (Formosa). In 1624 the Dutch
set up forts in the south, the Spanish in the north. The Dutch forced out
the Spanish in 1641 and controlled the island until 1661, when Chinese
general Koxinga took it over and established an independent kingdom. The
Manchus seized the island in 1683 and held it until 1895, when it passed
to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War. Japan developed and exploited
Formosa. It was the target of heavy American bombing during World War II,
and at the close of the war the island was restored to China.

After the defeat of its armies on the mainland, the Nationalist
government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan in Dec.
1949. Chiang dominated the island, even though only 15% of the population
consisted of the 1949 immigrants, the Kuomintang. He maintained a
600,000-man army in the hope of eventually recovering the mainland.
Beijing viewed the Taiwanese government with suspicion and anger,
referring to Taiwan as a breakaway province of China.

The UN seat representing all of China was held by the Nationalists for
over two decades before being lost in Oct. 1971, when the People's
Republic of China was admitted and Taiwan was forced to abdicate its seat
to Beijing.